A Day at Your Leisure
by Jisushika-chan
Summary: An ordinary day for Shinn, isn't it? How could a few friends and a certain blonde do to change that? SS


Kon'nichiwa!

I know I'm supposed to be working on "What's in a Name?"... but now that I found out that it was Shinn's birthday a few days ago... and that he's one of my favourite characters... I couldn't concentrate on that story. So I wrote a bit of Shinn/Stellar for him! That's is also one my favourite pairing. Happy birthday, Shinn! Or late birthday...

When is Stellar's birthday, does anyone know? Bevause I didn't even know characters HAD birthdays, so yeah...

Er... does the line thing not work for anyone else or just me?

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It was a normal morning for Shinn.

You know, get up, scrape together something for breakfast, and consider what to do…

Sitting on a bar-stool in the small kitchen, he was currently doing the considering part of his mornings. I think, he mused, that this will be just another day with nothing to do. He mulled over his options. He could always go out for a walk, surf the net or – stop Stellar from throwing his alarm clock out the window!

He ran over and pulled the ringing, will-definitely-NOT-survive-a-ten-story-drop gadget out of her hands, turned it off and set it back on his night-table. He sighed with relief. Luckily he could see into his room from where he was sitting. He really couldn't afford any other new electronics.

"Did Stellar do something wrong?" Her innocent voice pulled Shinn's attention toward her.

The black-hair turned toward her and softened. He couldn't stay mad at that naïve expression. Even if all of his electronics hated him, he had to admit that he lov – liked the purple-eyed girl. "No, I'm not. But please don't try to throw it out the window anymore. This is called an alarm clock."

"Alarm… clock?"

"Yeah," confirmed Shinn. "It wakes you up in the morning." He had set the alarm for ten, but forgot to turn it off when he woke at 9:30. He didn't have to work, considering his modest inheritance and monthly soldier pensions. But after replacing a TV, telephone, and radio, he couldn't really afford to buy more, at least until the next cheque that comes in the mail.

"Come on, I made ramen for breakfast." Tugging on her arm, he led her to the counter.

Stellar face's brightened. "Oh, is it the same as always?" Okay, so he wasn't the best cook. But at least she didn't really mind much. He'll live with it. And besides, the stuff tasted good. So what if they ate it… all the time?

After breakfast the two decided to go out. They walked along the sidewalk, peering into different stores.

"Oh!" Stellar paused. "Ocean. It's so pretty."

Shinn looked around, perplexed. They were a fair distance away from the Pacific. "Where?"

"There!" She ran ahead, barely avoiding running over several people. She knocked over a woman's shopping bag and the lady knelt, grumbling, picking up cans off the floor. Shinn ran after her, yelling 'sorry' to the woman still couched on the ground.

He almost crashed into Stellar herself as he turned back to the front. "Eh, so…"

"Ocean, I like…" Her voice was soft.

Shinn looked at what interested her so much. Through a shop window has a simple painting on a piece of black velvet. But her could see why it caught her eye. It was, just like she tried to tell him, the ocean. Whilst looking realistic, it somehow portrayed the magnificence and the wonder of the vast body of water.

He looked back at Stellar's expression, and sighed. Pulling her wrist, they both entered the shop. Inside was swirl of different colors and images. It was very quiet, almost if they were they first to enter that day.

Looking for an attendant, he spied a silver bell beside the cash register. Ringing it lightly brought quick results.

Sooner than he had time to lift his gaze from the desk, a voice materialized: "Hello, and welcome to Memories of – Shinn!"

Said person whipped his head around so fast that he got a crick in it. Rubbing, he got a surprise. "M-Meyrin?"

"Hiya!" The red-head beamed. "Haven't seen you in a long time!"

"Y-yeah…" he said, confused, "But what are you doing here?"

"Luna works here too! And Miri!" She gestured to the walls lined with images.

" "Memories of Shinn?" " Stellar questioned, head slightly tipped to one side. " "Memories of Shinn"… is name of shop?"

Meyrin giggled. "Oh, hey Stellar. No, the name is actually "Memories of Something Lost". But I guess it could be named after Shinn. After all we do pictures of different things, many destroyed or touched by the wars."

"You say Luna's here?" Shinn re-entered the conversation. "Where?"

"That would be me!" The cheerful girl stepped from the same door that Meyrin just came through. Shinn noticed with surprise that she looked much different from what he was used to with her as a comrade. Her hair was longer, falling into her eyes and just past her shoulders, her cheeks slightly fuller. The biggest difference was her clothes and fingers; they were spotted with many different colours of paint. There was even a blue bit in her hair!

"Luna…?"

The girl smiled. "Hey, Shinn, Stellar. How are you guys?" She talked on, not giving him a chance to reply. "Like the shop? We got the idea when we were traveling."

Shinn processed the information. "You mean to say… that you _own_ the shop?"

"Mmhmm! With the three of us, we got enough to start up shop."

"Three…?"

"Oh yeah! Meet Mirilliria!" She vanished briefly to the back room and dragging out a girl with short brown hair and blue-green eyes. "This is Shinn. Shinn Asuka, pilot of Impulse and Destiny." Miri looked more closely at the young man in front of her. "Miri here actually used to be a CIC, like Meyrin. Except… on the Archangel." Shinn's eyes widened and turned to peer at the girl more closely in return. "She's a photographer, and I paint, and together we sell them." Her tone changed a bit. "We focus on the affects of war on us, and sometimes it's as if seeing what war does – to _both _sides. When we choose to shoot at all of our enemies instead of negotiating."

There was a solemn pause. All present knew first-hand about war.

Then Stellar tugged on Shinn's sleeve. "Shinn… is the ocean here?"

"Right, eh, Luna, I would to see that picture you have in the window."

Luna blinked. "Eh?"

"Here, I'll get it." Meyrin walked past them, pulling the key to the display out of her pocket. "Here." She said, returning with it.

Stellar's eyes widened as she saw it up close. "Ocean. Like…"

Shinn sighed and fingered his wallet. "I'll take it. How much?"

Meyrin began to ring it up. "Buy it…?" Luna sounded surprised.

The red-eyed ex-soldier looked confused. "Why? Am I not supposed to?"

"Nah. She's just not used to the concept of selling her paintings," assured Mirilliria.

Meyrin interrupted. "Okay, the total after tax, comes to $47.50." Shinn winced, but pulled out his wallet anyways. "But for you, you can have it for twenty."

He gaped at her. "But that's more than fifty percent off!"

Luna agreed with her sister, "then you better take it before we change our mind."

"Eh…" He handed over a fifty dollar bill. "Nah, I couldn't." Seeing as he refused to take extra change, he left the store with their phone numbers, the neatly-wrapped package and his wallet forty-seven fifty dollars lighter.

"Let's go home, Stellar, to hang it, okay?"

"Okay!" The blond girls skipped along beside him, happy.

Upon entering the modest apartment, Shinn got out a hammer and nail and entered Stellar's room. Setting the package on the floor, he ripped apart the think paper and bubble-wrap. He looked at the painting in surprise. Wedged between the frame and the canvas was three crisp ten-dollar bills. _Meyrin! _He couldn't deny that she could be sneaky when she wanted to be.

Choosing a place where Stellar could see the painting all the time, the hammered a single nail into it. Hanging the 'ocean' on the wall, it took him several attempts to hang the – _bloody_ –THING– _STRAIGHT!_

Finally stepping away from the wall he moved to give the purple-eyed girl a better look. "It is okay?"

Stellar stared at it for a bit, then flew at Shinn, hugging him. They pair landed on the fortunately carpeted floor. "Thank you, Shinn! Stellar is happy! Thank you!" Unnoticed by the naïve girl, Shinn felt a blush rise to his cheeks.

The nice moment was shortly interrupted by Stellar's stomach. "Shinn, I'm hungry."

He didn't really blame her. After all she didn't eat that much for breakfast. "Okay, let's go out for something."

Stopping by a café, each inhaled a sandwich and coffee each, before resuming their walk. Presently, Stellar caught sight of a small arcade. Wanting to go in, she pulled Shinn inside.

"Here, okay?" She looked up for approval.

Shinn didn't really mind. He himself went to different places like this often. "Yeah, sure." He rummaged in his pockets and produced some quarters. Teaching her how to start the games was easy enough. He gave her some coins and settled for a familiar game.

Stellar watched his progress for a while. He cGnnkjhnkrjnkgjrjrnjgnkhhngmngoe2048He collected points with seemingly simple moves and sailed smoothly through it. Setting off to find something that interested her, she wandered absently.

Forty-five minutes later, she was having no luck. Others made games look so easy, but she just couldn't play in the same way.

A piece of black plastic highlighted with bright yellow and red caught her eye. This looked familiar… kinda like Gaia. She hefted on the surprisingly heavy piece. What was this called again?

She shrugged, and pushed in her last coin. This game was easy for her. It was what she was trained to do the most. Point, aim and shoot.

Within minutes, she had already bypassed the high score and still had all three lives. The loud sounds of a level never reached before brought other curious player over; Stellar completely oblivious to the attention.

"Whoa… she's good."

"Where did she learn to play?"

""She's good at these games _and_ really cute!"

Pretty soon a crowd conjured themselves out of nowhere and attracted the attention of Shinn, who had just lost another game of Poker. Someone beat _the _high score? Curious he squeezed his way the front. His jaw dropped. Stellar? He was soon distracted by a brown-haired man walked up to her. The black-hair's eyes narrowed.

"Hey, you, blond! One beating us all in the game!"

Stellar looked, confused, "Who are you?"

"Hey, you're really cute, want to go somewhere?" He pushed back his hair casually.

Shinn _knew_ he wouldn't like him. He marched over and positioned himself between the two. "Hey! Leave her alone!"

The man sneered. "Who are you to tell me that! Do you know who I am?"

"No." The answer was flat.

The crowd gasped as one.

"Do you want to _die!" _

Stellar froze. "D-die?" No one heard her. They were too interested in the two men.

Except for one.

Shinn turned his head back for a second. "No! You won't die! I will protect you from the scary th –" That split second was enough for the brown-hair to land a solid punch.

The blonde stared at Shinn in pain through her daze, then lifted her unblinking gaze to the other man. "Die…?"

"Hey, so what do you say?"

"Scary…"

He seemed momentarily confused. "What?"

"Stellar doesn't want to die! No!" She lifted the toy gun in her right hand. "Dying is bad!" She lashed out with the gun as if it was a club and the brown hair fell slowly to the ground. The crowd slowly dispersed, not wanting to stay with the violent blonde.

Stellar let the toy-turned-real weapon clatter to the ground. Taking deep breaths, she kneeled down by Shinn.

"Shinn. Is Shinn okay?"

"Yeah. Let's go."

They made it home without any further problems. When they unlocked the front door, they both rested on the couch.

"Shinn?"

He grunted.

"Why did Shinn let that person hit you?"

He turned and looked at her in the eye. "Because, like I said, I'll protect you from the scary things."

"Shinn…" Almost hesitantly, she took one of his hands and touched it to her face and closed her eyes, like she did before. Difference was, this time, they ended up much closer.

The boy beside her smiled and his eyes traveled down from her eyes to her lips as if against his will. If he just leaned forward just a little…

"Shinn?"

Said person jumped. "Er, yeah?"

"Does Shinn like Stellar?"

Pink spread across his cheeks. "U-uh… why do you ask?"

"Stellar was reading a book. It's called "A city with no People." It said that if Stellar always feel happy with someone. If that someone makes Stellar happy all the time, it means that Stellar likes this person. That person is the "someone just for Stellar"." She looked thoughtful. "So if Stellar likes Shinn, does Shinn like Stellar?" The blond looked expectantly at her companion.

Ducking his head to hide his red cheeks, he hesitated. "Yeah…"

"Really?"

Shinn looked up with more resolve. "Yeah." She was sitting with her legs folded nicely under her, facing him. Once again she was so close. His eyes jumped again to her lips. If he leaned a little… just a little more… just a tiny bit more…

His lips brushed against hers briefly before he jumped back, blushing harder than ever.

Automatically he answered her unasked question. "That's a kiss. When people lov – like someone else, they kiss them sometimes." Even the explanation made him blush. At this rate he was never going to stop.

"A kiss…?"

"Yeah."

All in all, it turned out to be a very extraordinary day.

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Thanks for reading,  
Jisushika-chan

September 5, 2005 (wish it was the first!)


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